SVA: Made in Yame, Japan

Made in Yame is a two–week intensive product design program that takes you deep into the culturalal heart of Japan. Study with the finest craftspeople, visit ancient temples and shrines, and relish the food, architecture and landscape of this extraordinary country. Yame is a small, rural city on the Western island of Kyushu, located one hour from Fukuoka, the fifth largest and fastest growing city in Japan. Best known for its green tea, Yame is home to a surprising concentration of traditional crafts and cultural preservation and it provides a unique context in which to practice translating traditional Japanese crafts and forms into contemporary product designs. The program includes inspirational trips into the surrounding hills, green tea fields, a sake brewery and an onsen ryokan — a traditional hotel built over natural hot springs.

Upon completion of the course, finished product prototypes will be shown to the buyers at the Museum of Modern Art’s product division, MoMA Wholesale. MoMA Wholesale has had three successful years of producing select designs from SVA MFA in Products of Design. Made in Yame extends that partnership to include contemporary products influenced by traditional Japanese craft. Designs chosen will be licensed by MoMA Wholesale and distributed to retail outlets globally.